Boston Tech Watch: Gradifi, Numerated, Jibo, Corvus, Botkeeper

December 4, 2018

A wave of cash for finance and insurance tech startups, a robotic assistant goes dark, and a medical transportation startup’s move across the Bay State make up the latest in Boston technology news. Read on for details.

—The former head of PayPal’s (NASDAQ: PYPL) Boston office, David Chang, has been named CEO of Gradifi, a Boston-based employee benefits startup offering student loan refinancing and college savings plans. Gradifi was bought by First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) two years ago for $32 million, according to an SEC filing. Chang takes over for former CEO Tim DeMello who left the business earlier this year.

—Fintech startup Numerated says it has raised $8 millionin additional funding and added Raj Date, a former deputy director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to its board. Founded last year, the Boston-based company sells lending software to banks to offer automated online credit decisions. Numerated says it has raised $17 million in venture funding so far.

—Jibo, the Boston-based startup behind the “social robot” assistant, has pulled its business license in Massachusetts, the Boston Business Journal reported. The license news follows Jibo’s move to lay off nearly all of its employees in June. It’s the latest indicator that the closely-watched startup, which graced the cover of Time Magazine in 2017, is unlikely to execute a turnaround. At the time of the layoffs, a source told Xconomy additional funding for the company had failed to materialize.

—Corvus, a Boston-based commercial insurance technology company, raised $10 million in a new funding round. Hudson Structured Capital Management and .406 Ventures led the round, with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, a previous investor. Corvus says it plans to expand its existing two products into other lines of commercial insurance. Corvus says it has raised a total of $14 million across two rounds of funding.